More About
This Textbook

Overview

This forward-thinking volume grapples with critical questions surrounding the mechanisms underlying mental disorders and the systems used for classifying them. Edited and written by leading international authorities, many of whom are actively involved with the development of DSM-V and ICD-11, the book integrates biological and psychosocial perspectives. It provides balanced analyses of such hot-button issues as the role of social context and culture in psychopathology and the pros and cons of categorical versus dimensional approaches to diagnosis. Cutting-edge diagnostic instruments and research methods are reviewed. Throughout, contributors highlight the implications of current theoretical and empirical advances for understanding real-world clinical problems and developing more effective treatments.

Editorial Reviews

Doody Reviews

Reviewer: Christopher J. Graver, PhD (Madigan Army Medical Center) Description: Our understanding of psychopathology has evidently progressed beyond magical diagnostic formulations to become a logical and methodologically rigorous science. New insights and theories are shared in this book, especially as they relate to classification, diagnosis, and revisions of the DSM.Purpose: The primary aim of this book is to provide suggestions and directions for understanding psychopathology that may provide useful to the writers of the DSM-V. A secondary aim is to continue to incorporate multiple perspectives into our understanding and to integrate medical and psychological knowledge into a unified diagnostic system. However, the timing of this publication is an issue given that a draft of DSM-V is already available.Audience: The audience for this book is broad and includes doctors, clinicians, therapists, and other behavioral health paraprofessionals. The editors are pinnacle theorists and researchers and have included a broad spectrum of qualified contributing authors.Features: This book covers several major topics, presenting a historical review, conceptual issues in classification, methodological approaches, and innovative proposals and theories. The first section provides an intriguing framework for comprehending both the individual contributions of pioneers in psychopathology and the directions of formal nomenclature and taxonomy. The book proceeds to explore current issues in diagnostic classification as well as trends and new research that heralds new directions in this endeavor. Some of the ideas are intriguing, and some are baffling. On the one hand, the idea of psychoneurometrics of psychopathology that integrates psychophysiological information with psychological criteria truly hints at the exciting ability to use all available information in reaching an accurate diagnosis. On the other hand, reonceptualizing symptoms of autism as learning disabilities has great potential for confusing clinicians, educators, and the lay public.Assessment: For readers interested in new directions and perspectives in DSM taxonomy, this book will provide thought-provoking insights, but the price of revolutionary ideas is that they sometimes diverge from rational thought.

Doody's Review Service

Reviewer: Christopher J Graver, PhD, ABPP-CN(Madigan Healthcare System)Description: Our understanding of psychopathology has evidently progressed beyond magical diagnostic formulations to become a logical and methodologically rigorous science. New insights and theories are shared in this book, especially as they relate to classification, diagnosis, and revisions of the DSM.Purpose: The primary aim of this book is to provide suggestions and directions for understanding psychopathology that may provide useful to the writers of the DSM-V. A secondary aim is to continue to incorporate multiple perspectives into our understanding and to integrate medical and psychological knowledge into a unified diagnostic system. However, the timing of this publication is an issue given that a draft of DSM-V is already available.Audience: The audience for this book is broad and includes doctors, clinicians, therapists, and other behavioral health paraprofessionals. The editors are pinnacle theorists and researchers and have included a broad spectrum of qualified contributing authors.Features: This book covers several major topics, presenting a historical review, conceptual issues in classification, methodological approaches, and innovative proposals and theories. The first section provides an intriguing framework for comprehending both the individual contributions of pioneers in psychopathology and the directions of formal nomenclature and taxonomy. The book proceeds to explore current issues in diagnostic classification as well as trends and new research that heralds new directions in this endeavor. Some of the ideas are intriguing, and some are baffling. On the one hand, the idea of psychoneurometrics of psychopathology that integrates psychophysiological information with psychological criteria truly hints at the exciting ability to use all available information in reaching an accurate diagnosis. On the other hand, reonceptualizing symptoms of autism as learning disabilities has great potential for confusing clinicians, educators, and the lay public.Assessment: For readers interested in new directions and perspectives in DSM taxonomy, this book will provide thought-provoking insights, but the price of revolutionary ideas is that they sometimes diverge from rational thought.

PsycCRITIQUES

"Provides conceptual tools with which to appreciate the emerging taxonomy. Parts of it will be an invaluable resource for teaching and will provide foundation for future scholarship as DSM-5 is released....Readers intrigued by scientific foundations of the DSM-V and ICD-11 will be delighted. The contributions establish intellectual foundations of nosology for clinical scientists for many years to come."--PsycCRITIQUES

From the Publisher

"DSM-IV has had tremendous effects--both positive and negative--on clinical practice and research. Will DSM-V be an improvement? This exceptional book explores such crucial issues as whether the diagnostic categories have construct validity, how symptom diagnoses relate to personality, the impact of culture on classification, and how to base the diagnostic process in neurobiology. This book is a 'must' for anyone who wonders how the DSM could be made more clinically relevant. You will not find a more sophisticated discussion of the essential issues in psychiatric diagnosis anywhere else."--John F. Clarkin, PhD, Co-Director, Personality Disorders Institute, New York Presbyterian Hospital; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College

"This is an impressive volume. Millon, Krueger, and Simonsen have assembled a stellar group of experts to provide up-to-date, scholarly, and innovative analyses of critical issues in psychopathology. Essential reading for any one interested in understanding the challenges facing contemporary psychopathology and psychiatric nosology. The breadth and depth of the contributions will appeal both to experienced practitioners and researchers and to students training for the various mental health professions."--W. John Livesley, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry (Professor Emeritus), University of British Columbia, Canada

"The time is ripe for a major reconsideration of the principles to be employed in any diagnostic classification, and this admirable volume does just that. The aim is not to present a new list of ‘facts,’ but rather to enable people to think clearly and critically about such key issues as whether to use dimensions or categories or prototypes, how to deal with comorbidity, the harmful dysfunction construct, and the interconnections between personality and mental disorders. The real value of the book lies in getting people to put aside prejudice and dogma and think creatively instead. The approaches discussed are practical and clinically relevant. This volume is essential reading for anyone with the slightest interest in classification and diagnosis. No one is likely to agree with everything in this wonderful book, but you will think more clearly after reading it. A substantial volume, full of wisdom and interest."--Michael Rutter, MD, Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, United Kingdom

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Theodore Millon, PhD, DSc, until his death in 2014, was Dean and Scientific Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Personology and Psychopathology. He was Founding Editor of the Journal of Personality Disorders and inaugural president of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders. Dr. Millon held full professorial appointments at Harvard Medical School, the University of Illinois, and the University of Miami. A prolific author, he wrote or edited more than 30 books on theory, assessment, and therapy, as well as more than 200 articles and book chapters, and developed the widely used Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). He was a recipient of the Gold Medal for Life Achievement in the Application of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation, which annually presents the Theodore Millon Award in Personality Psychology in his honor.

Robert F. Krueger, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. His major research interests lie at the intersection of personality, psychopathology, psychometrics, and behavioral genetics. Dr. Krueger has received a number of awards, including the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution and the American Psychological Foundation’s Theodore Millon Award for midcareer contributions to personality psychology.

Erik Simonsen, MD, is Director of Psychiatric Research in Region Zealand, Denmark; Director of the Institute of Personality Theory and Psychopathology; and Associate Research Professor at the University of Copenhagen. He has published widely on personality disorders, first-episode psychosis, personality assessment, outcome of psychotherapy, and psychiatric classification. Dr. Simonsen is past president of the ISSPD and a recipient of the ISSPD Award. He has also served as president of the Section on Personality Disorders of the World Psychiatric Association.

8. Diagnostic Taxa as Open Concepts: Metatheoretical and Statistical Questions about Reliability and Construct Validity in the Grand Strategy of Nosological Revision, Paul E. Meehl

9. Contemplations on Meehl (1986): The Territory, Paul’s Map, and Our Progress in Psychopathology Classification (or, the Challenge of Keeping Up with a Beacon 30 Years Ahead of the Field), Mark F. Lenzenweger

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.

- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.